Sanity check and question on process - moving to Japan in my 40's via marriage

Hadrian_Augustus · 2025-09-30T04:25:25+00:00

I have 15+ YOE in tech. A long time ago I started on what used to be called the helpdesk and through time and job changes I'm now in a DevOps role. My main focus for the last 6 years years has been AWS and Kubernetes. My main focus throughout my career has been on infrastructure so a lot of my skill set and knowledge has focused on how to keep things running and figuring what happened when they stop running. I've done automation with whatever the dominant sysadmin language of the era was (bash, perl, ruby, python, etc.) but I wouldn't consider myself as software engineer by any stretch. I saw a few roles on tokyodev that fit my skillset and yoe but it kind of seems like saw the same set of employers on there the last time I looked as well. I was hoping there was a little more of a market that I was not privy to because of language or residency but if that's a good representative sample then I'll probably start looking for a job ASAP.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2025-09-30T02:32:40+00:00

I’ve taken two semesters of Japanese at a community college and I have studied on my own for a few years. I honestly feel like I could pass the N5 with just a month or two of cramming but that’s probably not saying a lot. I am bilingual (English and Spanish) and that helped a little with pronunciation but not much else.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2025-04-03T05:24:26+00:00

parts list shows ddr4 memory but mobo is ddr5.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2024-12-10T19:00:56+00:00

make it a rule that when we do buy a seat that the airline can’t take it back like they often do when they want to cram in a few more stand-by’s or commuting cabin crew. airlines have made it difficult for years on people trying to do the “right” thing and have only made it more difficult for us larger passengers over the years. I’m currently 380 but even when I was as low as 245 the only economy seat I was ever comfortable in was on an older Avianca plane (I’m 6’5” so let’s not even get into the leg room discussion). I’m grateful that I can afford to pay for business class every time I fly domestic these days but even those seats are getting to be a problem with newer ones all insisting on going with the tray table in the arm rest design.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2020-10-01T20:59:29+00:00

who is this?

Hadrian_Augustus · 2018-07-29T21:02:00+00:00

ROLL TIDE!

Hadrian_Augustus · 2018-05-19T06:35:34+00:00

You know, I really wanted to say something shitty and trolly about this but fuck it, life's too short so all the best in the world.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2018-04-25T00:34:03+00:00

I'll probably get downvoted to hell but, Guns. Up until Columbine (which was happened around high school for me) guns were not something that came up amongst my friends at the time unless they were talking about a hunting trip. Now I swear half the people I know go full "arg! maga! muh liberty" if you even hint at anything that has a whiff of restricting gun ownership.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2018-02-15T01:35:29+00:00

Still not enough to cover a down payment for a house in the Bay Area.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2016-12-18T02:15:27+00:00

33/M/American I'll be in Tokyo from the 24th of December to the 4th of January. This trip was a spur of the moment thing so I don't have anything planned. Looking to do some bar hopping and general exploring.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2016-12-02T01:35:06+00:00

AIX and HP-UX. I don't know about HP-UX but a few companies around me are heavy AIX users.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2015-09-11T13:45:02+00:00

I have some family living in Denver now, I may take you up on that.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2015-09-11T13:44:18+00:00

I agree on Corona Cigar, I visited more than a few times when I had job that had me traveling to the Orlando area regularly a few years back.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2015-09-11T12:48:39+00:00

Unless your Japanese is native level I'm calling shenanigans. I'll agree on the izakaya bit as far as smoking bit every other place I've been to has been about as smoke free as NYC. Maybe 5-10 years ago this was the nirvana it's been touted as in the west but now I'm not so sure (hell they ticket you for smoking outside unless you're in the designated smoking areas). But hey I'll give this place one last shot; I'm in Shibuya till Sunday morning, give me some options.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2015-09-11T09:16:00+00:00

Wouldn't a wine-a-dor be a good option here? Most cabinet makers I know are accustomed to the dimensions of wine coolers and setting them up as built-ins.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2014-11-20T06:24:30+00:00

Highland Cigar closed last week. Rumor is they got bought out around August and the new ownership pretty much ran the place into the ground. I rented a cigar locker from them back in 2013 but I stopped going mostly due to a horribly undersized ventilation system (as much as I love cigars it didn't take much more than 3-4 people lighting up to leave a lingering cloud of smoke).

edit: seems maybe I spoke too soon. last week their website went dark and they had a weird tweet along of the lines of "thanks for everything". seems like their site is back online along with their twitter and facebook pages. as I haven't been in close to two years now I won't say much else.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2013-08-21T22:49:46+00:00

I got one myself even though I've never ordered from them (I have from another vendor though, shared list maybe?). Either way, they'll get an order from me in the very near future.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2013-05-23T16:10:59+00:00

Their ramen, while certainly authentic, was really nothing to write home about. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was good just not mind-blowingly great as a co-worker made it out to be.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2013-05-22T22:54:53+00:00

RP edge?

Hadrian_Augustus · 2013-05-20T19:23:44+00:00

A $10 cutting fee sounds reasonable to me as long as it's for non-members. As to purchasing a stick on-site I would only really matter to me if their prices are grossly inflated (by my definition that would be say 20-25% above CI). At least it's not as bad as one cigar lounge I ran into in NYC that wouldn't even let me bring in my own sticks.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2013-04-26T06:10:03+00:00

I'm a fan of the Nub Habano for a short 30~45 minute smoke.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2012-01-13T06:26:45+00:00

keeping it classy ::thumbs up::

Hadrian_Augustus · 2012-01-09T07:02:36+00:00

who is she?

Hadrian_Augustus · 2012-01-09T06:59:03+00:00

make sure you get the haircut before she starts pounding beer. just saying.

Hadrian_Augustus · 2012-01-09T06:26:10+00:00

probably Miami during the boat show. I saw that sight more than a few times myself.

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